Memorial Day with the Soldiers' Monument Commission

Memorial Day for the Soldiers' Monument Commission was a very busy day, indeed!

10 a.m. We met on the monument grounds to set up for the day and to greet the VFW for a brief ceremony which includes the firing of a 3-gun salute to the Civil War veterans listed on the monument.

After the program, veterans, scouts and some members of the commission and the public posed with a sign- #CTMatters- which is a reminder to legislatures-state and national- that historic preservation is important to communities.

11:30 a.m. After the ceremony, some of the commission members congregated at the town green to prepare for the post-parade ceremonies while others walked down to the start of the parade route to march in the parade-see the photo at the top of the page. Following is a link to the parade photos on the Register Citizen taken by Winsted's Anita Garnett:http://media.registercitizen.com/2015/05/25/photos-winsted-memorial-day-parade-2015/#1The parade was again sponsored by the VFW Post #296, Commander Neil Hunt officiating.

12:30 p.m. The Soldiers' Monument Commission took charge of the post-parade ceremony. Jack Bourque was master-of-ceremonies for an event that included a Memorial Day speech by Todd Bryda, history professor at NCCC (see speech below), a moving poem - "Freedom is Not Free" read by Gilbert senior, Rik Emery. A surprise, that was not listed on the program, was the designation of Veteran of the Year presented to Chaplain David McGee by Grace Kelly. See Fox CT link- the first parade shown is Winsted: http://foxct.com/2015/05/25/after-winsteds-parade-a-surprise-honor-for-a-veteran/ The commission members played a prominent role at the ceremony reading off the names of those who died in the service of their country. Deb Kessler, dressed as a woman selling Victory Bonds, read the names of the dead from WWI.

The Gilbert Band provided the music for the ceremony and flowers were laid at the Civil War monument, the WWI monument and the Veterans' Memorial on the town green. An unforgettable ceremony.

2:00 p.m. The Soldiers' Monument on Crown Street was opened for its traditionally large crowd on Memorial Day. Visitor's were impressed with Jack Bourque's knowledge of the monument as he greeted them on the first floor. Steve Sylvester set up the music system to play Civil War music and public historian, Virginia Shultz-Charette discussed Petersburg and Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House using maps and photos on the second floor. A young, elementary school student donated a replica of the Soldiers' Monument that he did for a school project!

All-in-all a very busy, moving, exciting day for the Soldiers' Monument Commission.

Speech: Memorial
Day, 2015Ladies and gentlemen,My name is Todd Bryda. I am the history prof of that little college across the
green. I have been given the honor of
addressing you on this most hallowed of days,
and for that I have to thank Jack Bourque
and Deb Kessler. Although unworthy of the task, I shall do my best to honor the subject.

Now for a quick history
lesson:Memorial Day was not always a day
off from work or simply a day to BBQ. It began as a Civil War day of
mourning and a day to honor the 735,000 dead
of that horrific war. Back then it was called Decoration Day.

The first acknowledged Decoration
Day in the United States was organized in
April 1866 by women in Georgia
to honor the Southern dead. A month later in May 1866, the
first Northern event to honor the Union
dead was held in Waterloo, NY. The first federal day of
remembrance was proclaimed by Union General
Jack Logan in May 1868. Gen. Logan was the commander
of the Union veterans’ organization,
the Grand Army of the Republic.

After Logan’s proclamation this special day of honor grew more and more significant
to the nation; Decoration Day slowly evolved into Memorial
Day as the United States went on to fight other and more horrific wars.Now, I apologize for that
history lecture, it is an occupational hazard. But I feel it is crucial to
understand how events begin in order
to find their significance.This holiday, this day of
remembrance sprung from the pain and
suffering of a nation torn apart by Civil War. The families and friends of
the fallen wanted to make some sense of
the tragedy…the horror. They needed the sacrifice of
their friends and brothers tohave been
for something noble.Now, I will not debate nor
will I discuss the myths and legends that
grew from this need to make sense of the slaughter. I will not debate nor will I
discuss the causes for the Civil War or
any war that followed. Nor will I discuss why individuals
chose to take up arms in these conflicts..Instead, let
us simply honor the sacrifice and the courage it took to leave home and sacrifice one’s self on the nation’s altar of freedom.Congressman and future
president James Garfield gave the
first Decoration Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868. Garfield had been a Civil War general who sawghastly
combat at places like Antietam. In his speech to the thousands
of people gathered, he simply tried to encapsulate the feelings of a nation, he tried to put the deeds of the dead into
perspective for his audience- for Garfield- the war was simply about the love of country. In discussing the fallen, he
said to the crowd:“We do not know one promise
these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they
summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and
citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all
doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”Patriotism…virtue…love of
countryThese were not just words to
Garfield and the gathered mourners.They were not just words on
the fields of Flanders or on the
beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima.They were not just words in
the air over Germany or at Midway.To those soldiers who died at
the Chosin Reservoir in Korea or in the rice
fields of Vietnam, from the desertsof
Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan- patriotism, virtue, love of country are more than hollow
sentiments.735,000 Americans died in the
Civil War.Over 600,000 American men and
women have died in war since the guns
became silent in Virginia in 1865.Let us again honor their
sacrifice for this nation.InAbraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he tried in his own way to define the sacrifice of the nation’s
fallen. In trying to explain the
unexplainable, Lincoln succinctly pointed
to what he saw as the real purpose of the war:“With
malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle
and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a
just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”Patriotism,
virtue, love of country…and a lasting peace for all.We
honor the fallen by working for and achieving theseemingly unachievable,peace
for all people and peace for all nations.Thank you for this
opportunity to speak to you today.************************************************************************************

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